Can I take my student and do lessons outside of KIS?
Written by Daphne Lim - Updated
The answer is NO.
There have been instances in the past where clients have asked tutors to circumvent KIS Academics and do lessons independently (usually in an attempt to negotiate a lower price for lessons with you). We think these kinds of requests by clients are quite disrespectful since we make our prices super transparent to everyone (literally here), so clients are aware of all prices before they even request a tutor.
If you're ever approached by a customer to do lessons outside of KIS, please reach out to the KIS Team either through #help channel on Slack, or send us an email (contact@kisacademics.com) and we can help you handle the situation effectively.
Why Can't I Take Students off of KIS?
The reason KIS tutors cannot "steal" clients and do lessons outside of KIS Academics is due to your agreement when signing on as Tutors. The agreement in our tutor terms of service has a clause which restricts tutors from teaching KIS customers independently of KIS Academics.
We have this clause in place for a few reasons:
- It allows us to protect you as tutors. KIS Academics handles all the admin, resolves disputes, organises cancellation fees and importantly guarantees up to 2 lesson payments per client (you know, in case they refuse to pay or something). We do all of this to protect our tutors, but it all hinges on having an accurate record of your tutoring lessons via the KIS App.
- To make sure the business is financially viable so we can actually bring new students to our tutors. The commission KIS charges goes towards reinvesting into our tutors and back into the company by creating new opportunities for work (such as the job board), paying sales affiliates for clients they bring in, marketing to future customers and developing new technologies to make tutors' lives easier. We know that transparency is important, and so every month we give tutors an inside look into company finances with an overview of what the KIS Academics management is spending money on.
This agreement isn't something we can be flexible with as it’s written into our operating policies. Breaching this clause isn't fair to the rest of the KIS Academics team.
Does this mean I Cannot Tutor Outside of KIS Academics?
You can still be a tutor outside of KIS Academics! This is NOT an exclusivity clause. What we mean is that if a student requested you through KIS, you have to ensure you only charge this student through the KIS App.
However, if a student found you independently of KIS Academics (i.e. they did not submit a request through our website), but found you and contacted you through their own means, you can absolutely tutor them outside of KIS Academics.
We believe that the tutor agreement's policy is a very reasonable measure and ensures that all parties get rewarded fairly for their work. If we find that you have breached this policy, we will be taking it very seriously.
If it's not a policy that you can agree with, then that's understandable. However, in that case, working as a KIS Academics tutor may not be for you.
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